


Ups and Downs

by moonchildthings



Series: The Animagus Chronicles [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Hogsmeade, Hogwarts, Hogwarts Seventh Year, Hogwarts Sixth Year, Summer, Summer Vacation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-14
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:01:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24186310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonchildthings/pseuds/moonchildthings
Summary: Iris' first year at Hogwarts has finally come to an end. After the chaos that ensued during her fifth year, she's ready to graduate soon. With only two years remaining at the Scottish school and her relationship with Sirius picking up traction, Iris wants to enjoy her time before she is forced into adulthood. Though a looming war will certainly cause a substantial amount of mayhem.[Marauders Era][Sirius Black x Female!OC][Second in the Animagus Chronicles]
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Remus Lupin/Original Female Character(s), Sirius Black/Original Female Character(s)
Series: The Animagus Chronicles [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1528664
Kudos: 12





	1. Summertime

**Author's Note:**

> And we're finally back! Welcome back to the wonderful wizarding world of The Animagus Chronicles! I finally got the gist of what this storyline is going to be so now I can post the first chapter. I really missed writing about Iris and the gang, and I'm glad that I've finally gotten around to writing this story. 
> 
> If you've forgotten the cast that I put together for this story it is:  
> Iris Evans-Rose McGowan  
> Lily Evans-Karen Gillian  
> Sirius Black-Ben Barnes  
> James Potter-Aaron Taylor-Johnson  
> Remus Lupin-Andrew Garfield  
> Peter Pettigrew-Jamie Bell  
> Severus Snape-Louis Garrell  
> Regulus Black-Matthew Bell  
> Petunia Evans-Olivia Wilde  
> Wendy Hunt-Keke Palmer  
> Marlene McKinnon-Maia Mitchell  
> Octavia Evans-Mila Kunis  
> Craig Evans-Noah Wyle  
> Quinn Adams-Julie Andrews  
> Samantha Pratt-Gabriella Wilde  
> Oscar Reynolds-Logan Lerman  
> Derek Higgs-Simon Van Meervenne  
> Ida Leblanc-Saoirse Ronan  
> Matilda Brun-Lily Collins
> 
> Man, that's a long list...
> 
> Now, let's pick up where we left off, shall we? Hope you enjoy!

**GOING HOME FOR THE SUMMER WAS NOT** something that Sirius enjoyed. He could do without his mother's shouts, his father's abuse, and his brother's smug smile. The Black family was all about blood purity, being placed in Slytherin, and the dark arts. Sirius, a boy who was placed in Gryffindor and is best friends with muggle-borns and half-bloods, is certainly the black sheep of the family. It was a no-brainer why he was picked on by his family. He had suffered through sixteen years of this torture, only a few more years before he could leave his family for good.

All he wanted was to leave his family and never have to see their ghastly faces again. They already made it clear that he was a disappointment and that they wouldn't miss him. A short while longer and he'd get to escape them. The moment he was old enough, he'd get the hell out of that house and find somewhere else. Hopefully, that somewhere else included his Iris.

It has only been about an hour since he last saw her, but he missed her dearly. To think that this girl who he has know barley a year had affected him so much was baffling. That troublesome girl was easily able to grip his heart and was never going to let go of it. He could only hope that Iris felt the same about him.

He trudged along the platform to find his parents and his little brother. He didn't want to see his slimy little brother after what he had done, but he didn't have too much of a choice. If he could ignore Regulus for the rest of the summer without punching his lights out, it would be a miracle.

Sirius hated the fact that the snakes didn't get a harsher punishment than what was handed out to them. _Thank Merlin for their pure-blood_ , he thought bitterly. They should have been expelled or imprisoned for what they did. However, because of their family's statuses and the corruption of the system, they were able to pay their way through a light punishment. All they got was a stern talking to and exclusion from certain school activities.

Sirius was able to find the two people who certainly hated his existence as much as he hated rules. The teen came to stand in front of a strict looking couple who scowled once they caught sight of him. These two, unfortunately, were his parents. Regulus also waltzed over to join their parents and of course was greeted happily by the two. Well, as happily as a pair of stuck up purebloods could muster. Honestly, it seemed like most purebloods had a hard time expressing any emotions besides anger, hatred, or arrogance.

His mother, Walburga Black, stood with her back perfectly straight and her narrow nose pointed high in the air. She was wearing her signature long black dress and tall black heels that Sirius was accustomed to seeing her in. Honestly, it seemed like all the woman owned was just identical black dresses and heels. Her hair was tightly pulled into a braid on the back of her head and a dark bloody hue painted her lips which stood out due to her pale complexion.

The man next to her, Orion Black, with his stormy eyes watching his sons with judgment swirling in them. However, most of that judgment was pointed at Sirius, the disappointment of the family. It wasn't like Sirius didn't know that he was the disappointment, they reminded him every chance they could that he was the outcast of the family.

There were barely any words exchanged between any of them. Walburga and Orion simply turned from their sons once they saw that they had their belongings. Regulus followed after them obediently like a dog while Sirius dragged his feet and followed as well. Soon enough they exited the platform and their parents apparated them all to their home.

* * *

Sirius threw his trunk on his bed with a sigh. The posters of muggle bands were all over the room which was mainly there to piss off his family. Though he had to admit that he enjoyed muggle music. As well as the banners of Gryffindor and plenty of bathing beauties. Just another reason why he was on the verge of being disowned by the Black family.

He closed his eyes to calm himself down. Only a little while longer in this damned house and he'd get to leave and be on his own. Sirius had no idea where he would go, but it didn't matter to him. As long as he had the Marauders(his brothers in every way except blood), the girls(Lily, Wendy, and Marlene) and, of course, Iris, he would be just fine.

The teen was just about to open up his trunk to start putting some things away when an obnoxious shout broke through the air. "Sirius!" He sighed deeply and closed his eyes in frustration. Not even a few minutes after being home, and his mother was going to shout at him already, _joy_. After trudging out of his room and down the stairs to see what in Merlin's name his mother wanted, he entered the family room where his parents and brother were.

Regulus, the smug little bastard, was sat in one of the comfy armchairs with a sick smirk on his face. That didn't bode well for Sirius, at all. His father, who had been glaring at him since he entered their eyesight, sneered at him from his seat. His mother, a hauntingly disgusting woman, stood next to Orion's seat with her hands resting on the back of the expensive-looking chair.

He raised an eyebrow at them all with an emotionless expression, "yes?"

Walburga clicked her tongue at the teen and spoke in a snippy voice, "Regulus was telling us about his year."

Sirius glanced over at his brother who had yet to wipe that stupid smirk off his face. He looked back at his mother, uninterested. Why was she saying this? Is this the only reason why she had demanded he come down here? "So?"

"Well," she started, "it seems as though his year was far better than yours, _Sirius_."

Orion nodded his head, "with what he did to that mudblood, he has certainly shown his worth."

Sirius bristled at the mention of the _mudblood_ , Iris. "What he did to her was terrible!"

"It's a shame that you were caught though, Regulus," Orion continued with disappointment on his lips as if Sirius hadn't just shouted.

"Though I'm sure you've impressed plenty of our _friends_ ," Walburga said coolly and obviously proud of her youngest son. If it was possible, the smirk on Regulus' face grew even larger. Oh, how Sirius wanted so badly to punch him in the face. Their mother then turned to Sirius as her pleased expression twisted into one of disgust. "He has also told us that you were... _attached_ to the mudblood," Walburga spat out in revulsion. "First, you're sorted into the worst house at that school and now you're growing infatuated with some mudblood girl." Her shrill voice bounced around the sitting room and caused Sirius to grow even angrier. "It's a wonder why we let a blood traitor like you stay in our home."

Fury started to build up in the teen's gut at her words. How dare his mother say this! Speak of Iris in such a terrible way! He couldn't stand that his mother would talk about one of his best friends like this. It appeared that Regulus left out the fact that he had also seemed to have an obsession with Iris that was far more intimate than he may want to admit. He seemed to want to leave out the fact that he had kissed her many times, much to Sirius' anger.

The reminder of what his brother had done to Iris only seemed to fuel Sirius's anger with his family. His mother continued to rage on about how much of a disappointment he was to the Black family, but he didn't pay attention much. His anger was just causing a ringing to invade his ears as he ignored the spiteful words she had to say about his friends.

"Just stop," Sirius said through his teeth as he started to seethe at what his mother was saying. By Merlin, if he wanted to just curse the woman already! "Stop calling her that! Don't talk about my friends like that!"

Walburga, unstartled by his words, sneered at him, "Your friends are nothing but the scum of the earth, you idiotic child! I will speak about them however I want."

Sirius shook his head before bounding out of the living room while his parents shouted after him for walking away from them. Though he ignored them, instead he marched right back into his room. The anger was boiling over and he didn't care anymore. He had put up with their shit for years, and this was the final straw. To have his parents say such things about his friends, about the girl he like so dearly, was the final breaking point for him. After everything that happened at school, he already planned on never speaking with Regulus again, even though it wouldn't affect either of them much. Though now he could openly express how much he hated his brother, and for good reason.

His mother came storming after him as well, shouting shrilly at him and continuing to rant on and on about the dirty blood of his friends and how he has stooped low enough to become like them. He didn't care. He had dirty blood now? So what? He'd rather have "dirty blood" than have to spend another second living with this vile family.

He made it back into his bedroom and grabbed his school trunk and also a few other things which he stuffed in there. When he came bounding back towards the foyer he found his seething mother at the bottom of the stairs with his glaring father and smug brother. A perfect little family they were. This was obviously not a place for him. He didn't care if he had to live on the streets! Anywhere was better than here.

His family continued to shout abuse at him, but he pushed them aside and hurried through the door. "You are no longer apart of this family, you blood traitor!" His mother's shrill voice screeched as he walked out the door and away from those toxic people. As Sirius made his choice to never come back to these people, Walburga stormed into the room of their house that was covered in their family tree. Without a second thought, and anger burning in her eyes, she used her wand to burn Sirius' face from the tree. A burn mark was left right on top of the teen's face, which ultimately meant he was completely disowned by the family, much like a few of his other family members. Though it didn't bother him much.

He tore out of 12 Grimmauld Place and tried to distance himself as far as possible before any of his family had the chance to come after him. Though he doubted they would. He fleed into the dark London streets and began to wander aimlessly. Having no place to go was definitely a problem at the moment.

Going to other members of his family was obviously not possible. The rest of his family was much like his parents, so they would be no help. However, he was struck with an idea. Maybe his blood relatives wouldn't help, but his brother, in everything but blood, would help him.

Just as he turned a corner with the intention of finding his way to the Potter's home, a purple triple-decker bus appeared out of nowhere. It came to an abrupt stop right next to Sirius, who jumped at its sudden appearance. He recognized it instantly as the Knight Bus. Perfect!

* * *

After a bumpy and hectic ride in the knight bus through the streets of London, Sirius was eventually dropped off at the Potter's home. The moderately large home sat at the end of a long dirt driveway that was framed by an assortment of flowers. James' mother, Euphemia Potter, loved all kinds of flowers and plants. She could rattle off the names of just about every flower that was near their house along with what properties they could have when used in a potion. It was a good thing she had married potioneer, it seemed.

Sirius lugged his trunk down the path towards his best mate's house. He had been here plenty of times already. He'd spend Christmas here ever since he was twelve and a couple of summers when things at home got to bad. He figured that he would be welcomed by the Potters and at least allowed to stay for a little while. Sirius didn't want to be much of a bother to them. They had done so much for him in the past, and he always thought that they didn't need to have his problems dumped on them.

He finally got to the front door and kicked on it. A moment passed before the door was opened by a meek house elf with beady brown eyes. The house-elf, Dizzy, peered up at Sirius with a confused expression. "Master Sirius?"

The teenager nodded his head, "Hi, Dizzy. Is James around or his parents?"

"Yes, sir!" Dizzy exclaimed before allowing him to enter the home. She scurried off to go look for her owners while Sirius started to make himself at home. The Potter house was really a true home to Sirius. He was welcomed here, he felt safe here, unlike his at his own home. Well, former home. He no longer had anywhere else to go.

Footsteps came bounding down the stairs which alerted to Sirius that James was home. As soon as the glasses-wearing teen noticed Sirius, he came to a stop at the last step with confusion etched on his face. "Padfoot?" He questioned and walked over to his best mate, "what are you doing here?"

Sirius could already tell that James had a good idea about why he was there. He had no doubt that the sour look on his face already explained how he was pissed off with his family. The fact that he had his trunk with him also seemed to show how he had left home on a horrible note.

"What else?" Sirius said with a rueful smile, "ran away from home, the usual."

James' expression became concerned as he walked over to the shaggy-haired boy. "What happened this time?"

Sirius sighed and huffed, "same old, same old. Mum and dad were comparing me to _Regulus_ ," he spat out his brother's name with venom on his lips. "And then they decided to call Iris a mudblood." His best mate's eyes widened in understanding then. Yeah, they definitely shouldn't have insulted Iris Evans. At least, not in front of Sirius. Said boy just continued on with a sigh, "Mum was just going on and on about how all of my friends were the scum of the earth... I just couldn't take it anymore."

James understood it, honestly. Having such pureblood loving parents must be the worst thing ever. He knew he was lucky to have parents who didn't focus on that and instead instilled in him not to judge people because of their blood or heritage. Speaking of his parents, both Fleamont and Euphemia came out of the living room of the house to see the two boys.

Euphemia, ever the loving mother, came over to Sirius immediately and embraced him in a firm motherly hug. "Oh, Sirius!"

Euphemia Potter was quite a pretty woman. Despite being a bit older than most parents who have children James' age, she still looked beautiful. Ageless would be a good word to describe her. With short brown hair that was usually up in a loose bun and emotion-filled blue eyes, she certainly looked good for her age.

Her husband, Fleamont Potter, waltzed over to Sirius as well and placed a hand on his shoulder. The man had a head of grey hair though he still appeared youthful. With bright blue eyes that appeared to hold a child-like gleam to them, there was no doubt where James may have gotten his personality from. "What are you doing here?"

The shaggy-haired boy cleared his throat, as though embarrassed as to why he had just shown up on their doorstep in the evening. "My parents..." He had to think for a second on how to explain what had happened. He shook his head and finally came up with something. "I ran away. Well, they also kicked me out too." Sirius let out a nervous chuckle as he scratched the back of his head.

The parents shared a look with each other. They honestly weren't too surprised by this. Both of them knew about how bad home could be for Sirius. Euphemia knew what a horrid person Walburga could be, even to her own children. If she had to hear one more story about how bad of a mother she was, Euphemia would have honestly taken Sirius away from them herself. No child deserved to live in the hate-filled home that Sirius did.

"Don't worry, my boy." Fleamont said kindly, "You can stay here as long as you need."

Sirius looked up at him with wide eyes, "Really?"

"Of course," Euphemia said gently, "you're already a part of the family, Sirius."

Genuinely released by what they said, it felt like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. He breathed out a sigh, "Thank you."

"Come on, Pads," James said with a smile. "Best put your stuff in my room."

Sirius smiled as well and grabbed his stuff to head up to James's room. Yeah, Sirius no longer had his blood relatives, who needed them anyway. He's always had another family who has been there for him. His _real_ family and he'd never want to leave them now that they said that they want to help him out. Hopefully, things would continue to get better from here.

* * *

"Home, sweet home!" Iris exclaimed as she bounced into her house. She took a deep breath as the aroma of her mother's baking greeted her happily. Her stomach rumbled as she tossed her trunk to the side and made her way into the kitchen where she found a plate of assorted cookies. Obviously, waiting for her to devour them like she always did after coming home from school. "Yes, cookies!"

She grabbed a few cookies and started to munch on them as her parents and Lily finally came into the house. Octavia giggled slightly as she could already hear her daughter helping herself to the snacks she made before they left to get the girls. "Oi! Make sure you leave some for the rest of us! I better not see half that plate already gone!"

Iris' head popped out from the kitchen entryway with her cheeks puffed up with cookies as she flashed her mother a sheepish smile. "Oops?"

Craig laughed at Iris and bounced over "Now, now, sweetheart, best leave some for us... or _me_ at least."

Between the two of them, most of the plate was already gone before either Lily or Octavia walked into the kitchen. Both of them shared an amused look before grabbing a single cookie each to enjoy. Much like every summer, Octavia always made sure to bake up something nice for the girls to come home to. One year, she made them a cake. Another year, a pie. Last year, she made brownies. And Merlin, did they taste heavenly!

"We better put our stuff away," Lily said after finishing a chocolate-chip cookie and walking back into the living room to grab her trunk. Iris begrudgingly followed her, of course, right after she snagged one last cookie and chomping on it. _Mmm, snickerdoodles._

The pair of twins grabbed their trunks and walked down the hallway to their bedroom. Just before they entered, Iris found that Petunia's door was open. Their older sister was sat on her bed reading a magazine about muggle beauty.

"Heya, Petunia!" Iris exclaimed with a wide sarcastic smile on her face as she stopped in the doorway. Their older sister just scoffed and stood up before slamming her bedroom door in their faces. The smile on Iris' pale lips still didn't go away as she shouted through the door, "nice to see you too, sister dear!"

Lily pulled Iris away from the door and towards their own bedroom. "I don't know why you mess with her so much."

"'Cause she's an arsehole, that's why." Iris huffed as she put her trunk on her side of the room and flopped down onto her bed. The comforting warmth that it brought was already going to try and lull her into a nice nap if it wasn't for Lily grabbing her arm and pulling her back out of the room. Iris whined and reached back to her bed.

"Come on, mum and dad wanna hear about our year."

So the twins went back into the living room to find their parents sitting on the couch with some tea. The girls grabbed their own cups and started to answer any of the questions that their parents asked. Of course, Iris went off about the quidditch matches and the house cup. While Lily went in-depth about their studies and what they'll get to do next year. Neither of them mentioned what had happened. They really didn't want to, honestly.

As long as their parents didn't know about what had happened to Iris for the last few weeks of school, there would be less to worry about. There was no telling what their parents would do if they did know about the potion. The twins could be pulled from Hogwarts and forced to go somewhere else for school! Besides, there wasn't much that could be done. A pair of muggle parents weren't much of a match when up against the likes of the Black family. It was slightly cruel not to let Octavia and Craig know about the trauma that Iris went through. Though they could never know. Never.

Just as Lily was starting to rant about how Iris barely studied for their O. , there was a knock at the front door. Craig lumbered over to the door and pulled it open to find the kind smile of Quinn Adams. The older woman enthusiastically said hello to Craig before waddling over to the pair of teenagers.

"Oh, my dears," she cooed as she gave each of the twins a crushing hug. Iris gasped once she was let go and rubbed at her ribs, that she now thought were cracked. She loved Quinn, honest, but Merlin, did she have some tight hugs. Lily was unaffected though, must have something to do with also being able to give tight hugs.

"Hi, Quinn," the girls greeted her as she took a seat on one of the other plush chairs in the living room.

The older woman's smile had yet to fall off her face as she looked at the twins. Her excitement at their arrival was quite apparent as she appeared to be bursting with joy. She always got like this when school ended for the summer. The grandmotherly woman could finally get to see everyone that she had come to adopt into her own family, which included Iris and Lily, obviously.

"Now, how has school been for you two?" She asked the twins.

Lily took that as an initiative to control the conversation then, as usual. "It was stressful, I mean, with how much we had to study for our exams! It was bloody awful."

Quinn hummed, "I can't imagine. All these tests that you lot have to take nowadays, it's unbelievable, I'll tell you."

"Yes!" Iris wholeheartedly agreed, "Why do I have to take so many stupid tests?! It's not like I'm going to use what I learn from it, right?"

Lily shook her head at her twin's argument. One that she has used time and time again. "Of course, you're going to use what you learn from those tests, Iris." She rolled her bright green eyes in slight exasperation.

"Though I bet the rest of the school year was just fine for you girls," Quinn said.

Lily and Iris shared a small look with each other as they simultaneously lied through their teeth, "of course!"

* * *

The group continued to talk about what the twins' year was like for a while longer. They obviously avoided the topics of magic and made sure that their answers to Quinn were not specific. After all, they couldn't have a muggle who shouldn't know about magic hearing about their wizarding school. Though the day seemed to be getting a little bit worse. For Iris at least.

Lily was more than happy when Samantha, Oscar, and Derek showed up. They also were already on summer break and were ready to start planning what to do with each other now that they had no school. Iris had tried to get away from them and sneak back into her room for a good old nap, but Derek had seen her trying to leave. Thus, here she was stuck listening to Samantha's high-pitched voice to complain about her fashion dilemma while Oscar did his best to get Lily's attention.

So that left Derek and Iris to sit in a slightly awkward silence. All five of them had migrated out to the backyard to hang out. Seeing as Petunia was being stuck up, as usual, and their parents were still talking to Quinn, they wanted to have their own space to talk. It was already starting to get dark out, but it wasn't like any of them had to worry about anything tomorrow. The first day of summer, a perfect day to sleep in all morning.

Iris had sat herself down in a chair at the backyard table while Samantha, Oscar, and Lily sat in the grass. Derek had tried to sit as close to Iris without making it obvious that he desperately wanted her to acknowledge him. After all, the last time they saw each other had been during New Years... When they had _kissed_.

Derek cleared his throat to hopefully get Iris's attention, which she tried to ignore. Though that was kind of hard when the boy was sitting right next to her with his worried stare burning a hole in the side of her face. Reluctantly, she turned to him, seeing as she had nothing else to do. Besides, the awkwardness was suffocating Iris so much.

"Iris..." Derek started off slowly as if trying to collect his thoughts. "I-I wanted to apologize again, for-for... the _kiss_."

Iris tried to flash him a small smile though she was certain it may have looked more like a grimace. "I already told you that it was fine, Derek."

The boy shook his head, "but it was still uncalled for! I should have told you I was going to do it o-or not do it at all."

Iris couldn't help herself but chuckle lightly at his concern. She had to be completely honest and say that he wasn't the first to kiss her in that fashion. There were a few kids at Beauxbaton who had tried to make moves on her in an awkward way like him. Though after that, they would be too embarrassed to ever speak to her again after that. So Derek was a tad bit braver than those kids.

"Trust me, it's totally okay." She waved it off half-heartedly, "you're not the first to do that."

Derek's eyes widened, "Really? I mean, I guess that would be understandable seeing as you're so-" He cut himself off before he could embarrass himself even further.

Her eyebrows raised in question at him and saw a chance to hopefully stop the awkwardness from growing even larger. "What was that? Hmm? I'm so what?"

Seeing the teasing nature of her question, Derek relaxed and started to laugh. "You're so troublesome, that's what."

Iris pouted lightly, "and here I thought I was an angel!"

The two dissolved into laughter, the awkwardness between them having disappeared slightly more. Soon enough they eased into talking about their schools and what had happened during their time there. Derek was completely fascinated by the idea of a boarding school and all the mischief that Iris got up to. She still left out the magic parts, obviously. They both agreed on their distaste for exams and difficult assignments. Though all the while in the back of their minds, there were some different thoughts brewing.

Iris was glad to have someone who wasn't annoying to talk to and to tease even. Derek couldn't compare to the Marauders or even Wendy and Marlene. However, he was okay, for a muggle. Perhaps summer wouldn't be as bad as they sometimes were. She could only hope that she could at least see the Marauders at least once during their vacation. Especially Sirius.

However, Derek thought that this was his chance. This summer vacation was his chance with Iris, he knew. He liked her, quite a lot. And since she hasn't mentioned having a boyfriend or anything, so that must mean he had a shot at wooing her. Derek could only hope that he was correct in his thinking that she would also be interested in him. _Merlin_ , things were definitely going to get complicated now.


	2. The Potters are Rich!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah... chapter two is done... took longer than expected... Sorry. I've been a bit distracted by graduation and whatnot. We're obviously doing graduation different this year and there were quite a few things that had to be put into place before I could do anything else. Plus there's the whole college and scholarship stuff that has to be dealt with. Thankfully, everything is fine for school next year! Yay, can't wait for college!! Now, let's get back to the story, yeah?

**IRIS STRETCHED UNDERNEATH HER COVERS AS SHE** yawned loudly. It was mid-afternoon and she was just waking up for the day. Thankfully, Lily had left her alone to wake up at whatever time she wanted, which was a godsend. She sat up in her bed to find that Shadow was curled up at the end of her bed happily snoozing much like his owner was.

With her stomach rumbling, Iris climbed out of her bed and headed towards the kitchen. It was far past breakfast, so she may be able to catch some lunch. If not, Iris was pretty skilled at making sandwiches! You would think that since she has lived in a house with a wonderful cook as a mother, she would have learned something from her. But Nope!

The redhead lazily walked into the kitchen to find her father sitting at the table with the newspaper and her mother rummaging through the fridge. "Well, good afternoon, sleepyhead." Octavia greeted Iris as she pulled out some vegetables. 

Iris grunted in reply and sat down at the kitchen table and leaned her head against her arms. Obviously, she was still tired, but the calling for food needed to be answered. The scent of a nice chicken soup caused Iris's mouth to water. "Mm, where's Lily?"

"She went out with your friends earlier," Craig said idly, "and I believe Petunia is with... _Vernon_."

Iris snorted at the way her father spat out the oaf's name. Vernon Dursley, the man that Petunia had become so obsessed with. She had met him a while ago and was instantly taken with him. Honestly, Iris didn't see what was in a man like him. He was stuck up, boring, and idiotic. So a perfect match for Petunia! 

It was well known that Craig didn't like his oldest daughter's choice in men at the moment. He didn't usually like his daughters' choice in boys. Period. Wanting to keep his girls pure and innocent, he tried to keep boys as far away from them as possible. However, they had inherited their mother's beauty and caught the eye of plenty of people, much to Craig's horror. 

However, Vernon was a different story entirely. Yes, Craig didn't want to think of his little girls being swept off their feet, but he knew it would happen eventually. He hoped that each of them would find a man who was worthy of their love and still stood up to his standards of a kind gentleman. Vernon Dursley did not meet those standards. As his thoughts brewed over the rude man that had taken Petunia's heart, Craig hid behind his newspaper. 

Octavia rolled her eyes at her husband's behavior and continued to cook up some soup. She had yet to really see a problem with Vernon, but she was a little concerned with the man's attitude. Either way, she wouldn't become as upset about her daughter's relationship with Vernon just yet. "Do you want a cup of soup, Iris?" Iris's stomach rumbled in an answer. Octavia chuckled, "I'll take that as a yes."

"Mhm," Iris mumbled as she mulled over what she may do for the day. She wanted to do her best to try and avoid the muggles nuisances(Oscar and Samantha) that have been glued to Lily's hip ever since summer vacation first started. Iris wouldn't mind hanging out with Derek, however, he was usually with the other two, so she would probably be avoiding him as well. 

Of course, being left alone would be the perfect time for her to do some more research and experimenting for her own little pranks and such. Honestly, she's been doing quite well with some of the tricks that she's been able to make. Though she has gotten in trouble for testing them out on a few muggles. She has been grounded for almost most of the summer so far because of her pranks done on muggles. Iris was lucky that they were small enough not to catch the attention of the ministry or she would be in big trouble for risking the exposure of magic. Which is complete rubbish. How would muggles think a sudden strange smell was magic or a duck being turned bright blue? They were harmless pranks that didn't cause any harm or arouse any suspicion.

Though Lily caught wind of it and told their parents which got Iris into trouble. She had to admit, she'd rather deal with the ministry than an angry Octavia Evans. Who knew such a small woman like her could shout so loudly...

Octavia placed a hot bowl of soup right in front of Iris, who greedily started to eat it. Only to shout and recoil in pain due to how hot it was. Her mother shook her head at her and settled down with her own cup of soup and gave Craig one as well. "What are you going to do today, Iris?"

"I don't know," she replied as she tried to cool down her burned tongue. After the initial pain finally disappeared, Iris dived back into her soup, making sure that it was cool enough for eating though. "Lily's out, so I think I'll just stay here."

Her parents hummed in acknowledgment as they continued to eat their lunch together. As they enjoyed Octavia's wonderful cooking, they talked and joked with each other like they normally did. It was always fun to share a meal together, even if the entire family wasn't together. Though Iris would argue that not having Petunia around was just fine. A little while later, just as they were finishing up their meal, a light tapping came from the kitchen window. The Evans looked over to see a very familiar owl waiting patiently to be let in with a letter in its mouth. 

Iris hopped over to the window and opened it up for the bird. She smiled at it and took the letters from it while petting its soft feathers. It only carried one letter, unlike when it usually brings two letters for the girls; one from James and the other from Sirius. 

"And so it begins," Craig groaned out knowing who the letter was from already.

His wife and daughter chuckled. Iris sat back down at the table with the letter while Octavia took out some crackers for the tired bird. Iris tore open the letter, as it was addressed to both her and Lily, and skimmed it over. Her eyes brightened as she read over James's messy handwriting.

"James invited us over for a party!"

She handed the letter to her mother, "hm." Octavia read it over and nodded her head, "well this sounds lovely."

Craig's eyes narrowed at the letter as he snatched it from Octavia. "Going to that boy's house? I don't think I like that!"

"You don't like anything when it involves James," Iris chuckled, "it's just a little party, I bet it's only between our friends."

Her father only grumbled under his breath again about the Potter boy and Iris's own admirer. Truth be told, when Craig had first met James at the New Years' party, it was brief. And as much as he wanted to dislike the boy... he really couldn't. Yes, he could tell that James was a troublemaker, but what boy wasn't? Lily had always complained about him over the summers but now it almost seemed like she's become fond of the things he does. And that Sirius boy, the one who seemed to set his eyes on Iris', was just about the same. He was arrogant, yes, but seemed to know how to handle himself well enough. However, Craig had only seen the boys and barely spoke to them, let alone tried to intimidate them, he didn't truly know what they were like. Either way, Craig still didn't like them entirely. What father would like the boys who were trying to get his daughters' attention?

"It's on Friday, is it?" Octavia asked.

Iris nodded her head and took the letter from her father, "yup!"

Just as Craig was about to make another remark, the front door opened with a laughing Lily walking through it. Thankfully, for Iris, she entered alone and was saying goodbye to her friends for the day. When she caught sight of her twin and parents at the kitchen table, she beamed and slide over to them. At her arrival, Iris was out of her seat and shoving the letter into Lily's hands excitedly.

"What's this?" She asked.

Iris beamed, "James invited us over his place!"

A sour look passed over Lily's face briefly at the mention of the teenage boy. However, Iris could easily see that when her twin read the letter her cold attitude towards James melted, just a little. No matter how much Lily wanted to deny it, Iris could tell that there was something there between James and Lily. They all knew that James has been head over heels for the redhead, and Lily disliked him. Though now, Iris had observed how Lily's defenses against the boy were slowly deteriorating and Lily may or may not be softening up to him.

"Oh?" Lily coughed, "We're going?"

Iris just smirked at her sister with a spark in her brown eyes that screamed mischief. "Of course, why would we miss out on seeing our favorite boys?"

* * *

The next two days passed too slowly for Iris' liking. Wednesday and Thursday weren't too exciting. She had been dragged around the village by the muggles and Lily for the most part. However, she endured it. If she had done something to get herself in trouble and grounded again, she feared her parents wouldn't allow her to go over to the Potter's house. So she did her best to sat on her _best_ behavior.

Though, once Iris woke up Friday morning(at a reasonable time), she was buzzing with excitement. She hadn't seen any of their wizarding friends since the start of vacation which was a bit of a bummer. After only sending letters to the Marauders, Wendy, Marlene, Ida, and Matilda, Iris was in desperate need of human interaction. Honestly, she was going to go insane with only being able to see her family and muggle _friends_!

Though it was just about noon, and Iris and Lily were ready to head to the Potter's house. James had told them in his letter that his father would stop by their home to bring them over since the girls lived a bit farther away from them. That and they lived in a muggle village, which made it a little hard for them to get to their friend's house. So Fleamont Potter had offered to go get the girls.

Just as the girls were finishing up getting ready, there was a firm knock at the door. "I'll get it," Octavia called from the living room and opened the door. 

She came face to face with a slightly older man who's hair was a nice silver color. He had a wide toothy smile on his face as his blue eyes shined happily. "Mrs. Evans?"

"Yes?" Octavia asked.

Fleamont held his hand out for her to shake, which she did. "I'm Fleamont Potter," he introduced with a charming smile, "I'm sure my son wrote that I'd be coming by to pick up Lily and Iris."

"Oh, yes, yes," Octavia said and ushered the older man into the room with a kind smile. "The girls were quite excited to see all their friends today, Iris even stayed out of trouble to make sure she could go."

Fleamont chuckled. He remembered both James and Sirius talking about both of the Evans twins. James has always been infatuated with Lily and Sirius is now smitten with Iris. From how his boys talked about them, it was as if the two were a pair of goddesses. Though ever since they had met Iris, Fleamont knew how much mischief that Iris could stir up. He knew how much trouble she could get up to with the boys and by herself. A perfect match for either James or Sirius. Though he knew James only had eyes for her sister.

"Mum? Have you seen my necklace?" The oldest redhead asked as she came into the room. Her eyebrows furrowed as she caught sight of the older man, but still turned to her mother.

Octavia nodded her head and walked over to an end table by the couch, "you left it in the kitchen last night."

"Thanks," the redhead said and put the moon necklace on while glancing at the man again. She then pointed at him with her eyebrows furrowed, "who's he?"

Her mother pushed her hand down with a small frown, "don't point, Iris. This is Mr. Potter."

"Oh."

Fleamont chuckled at the two and held his hand out for Iris to shake. "Ah, this is the famous Iris!" The smile he had plastered on his slightly wrinkled face indicated to Iris that she was certainly talking to a fellow troublemaker. Though she suspected James had to get it from somewhere.

"Hi, nice to meet you!" She exclaimed happily.

"Go get your sister," Octavia told her daughter, "I know you two will want to get there as soon as possible."

"Yes, ma'am," Iris saluted before rushing off to get her twin.

The pair of adults laughed at her enthusiasm as Craig waltzed into the room. He pursed his lips at the sight of the gray-haired man that now stood in his living room. "Hello...?"

"Good afternoon, I'm Fleamont Potter." He held out his hand once again for a handshake which Craig complied with. 

The last name set off alarm bells in Craig's mind. _Potter?! As in James Potter?_ "James's father?"

Fleamont nodded his head, "yes."

Craig narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth to say something to Fleamont(Most likely to give Fleamont a piece of his mind about his son), only to be silenced when the twins came bounding into the living room. Lily was introduced to James's father with a large smile before they headed out of their home with Mr. Potter.

Of course, the only way to really get to the Potter household was to apparate there. Neither of the twins had experienced this form of transport before, so they weren't exactly sure how it was going to be. From what they learned about it, it was quite disorienting for first-time users. Though they didn't have their licenses yet because they haven't been tested yet, they should have it soon. They'd get to test this year, and Iris certainly couldn't wait to see what sort of trouble she could cause when she could apparate! Once the trio found a secluded spot to not be noticed by muggles, Fleamont offered his arms to each girl. Once they took hold on his elbows, they disappeared with a resounding crack.

* * *

Apparating certainly isn't something that Iris liked much. Once they landed in front of a moderately sized country home, she had to stop herself from throwing up as soon as her feet returned to the ground. The feeling of being twisted and stretched like a pretzel wasn't something that Iris enjoyed. 

Lily fared a little better than her twin and decided to tease Iris about it as they headed towards the Potter home(Iris had marveled at the size of the house and figured that James must be _rich_!). Once Fleamont let them inside and led them to the living room, they found that their friends were already there. The Marauders were already joking around with each while Marlene and Wendy were gossiping about their summers. The twins were greeted with large smiles and laughter as they started to converse with everyone.

It was a complete blast to be there. James had only invited their tight-knit group of friends over which Iris was completely okay with. She was more than happy to hop onto Sirius's lap and laugh around with her friends. Though since she first sat down with Sirius, he certainly didn't want to let Iris too far away from him. He constantly kept at least one hand around her shoulder or a hand on her thigh. Iris was used to his clinginess, but for some reason, it felt different. It almost seemed like Sirius was making sure that she was there. Like he needed a reminder that she was with him at that moment. She wanted to question it but didn't know how to do it exactly.

Just as Remus was retelling a story about how his summer vacation was going so far, Euphemia came into the room with some snacks for the teens. Like all mother's she made it her job to embarrass James as much as she could. Telling his friends little tidbits about what he was like as a little kid or what he says about Lily when he's home. Granted the things she tried to say about James adoring Lily so much was nothing new or really shocking. Though Iris had a feeling that if she wanted blackmail on her best guy friend, then she knew Mrs. Potter would be her go-to source of information. Not only that, but apparently, she had some good stories about Sirius too! Oh, Euphemia needed to become Iris's friend right away.

Each of the teens thought that Euphemia was a lovely woman. She seemed to have a never-ending supply of patience. Though having James Potter as a child definitely required a lot of patience. She was kind to them all and extremely welcoming! Honestly, none of them really saw a need to leave any time soon with having such a caring woman like Euphemia around.

As the teens munched on snacks and there was a small pause in the conversation, Sirius sighed heavily. He gained the attention of his friends as he gnawed on his bottom lip. He was obviously anxious about something and it was bothering him quite a bit. Honestly, Iris noticed that he appeared to be thinking about something. She wasn’t sure 

Iris tilted her up to look at him as she leaned against her chest. His arms were wrapped around her waist which tightened slightly as he looked over his friends. "You alright, darling?"

"Yeah," he sighed out.

She eyed him skeptically before climbing off of him and holding out a hand to him. She rolled her eyes at his denial and his dismissal for his obviously somber tone. Iris didn’t know what was bothering him, however, she was going to find out exactly what it was. "Come on."

Sirius eyed her for a moment before shrugging lazily and allowing Iris to pull him away. He smirked at his friends, "she can't keep her hands off me!"

Their friends grimaced as the retreating figures of the couple. James watched them go with wide eyes, "No shagging in my house!"

Iris and Sirius just laughed at his call, "No promises!"

The group of teens groaned in disgust at their call before dissolving into some idle chat as the two walked off. Iris eventually stopped dragging Sirius and leaned him up against the hallway wall now that they were alone. “Now,” she started as she wrapped her arms around his neck, trying to get as close to him as she could, in an attempt to comfort him. “What’s bothering you?”

The shaggy-haired boy stared down at her for a moment. His stormy eyes swirled with a plethora of emotions that Iris easily identified. Uncertainty, hatred, and relief were a few that she was able to catch. Though she couldn't figure out why he would feel that way.

Iris was always able to read him like a book, much like he could do the same for her. Neither of them could hide something from the other anymore. This wasn't an exception. However, Iris just wasn't sure exactly _what_ it was that was upsetting him.

"I left home."

The redhead was shocked by the statement and leaned back from him slightly. She did her best to get a good look at his expression and found that he was nervous. It was strange to see such an expression on his face. "What do you mean?"

"I ran away from home..."

"Oh." Iris blinked as she processed it. Even though she was confused, a burning rage started to build up in her. He left for a reason, obviously. Iris already felt like she had a vague idea of why. She already knew that the reason he left was because of his family and how they treated him. "What did _they_ do?"

Sirius shrugged his shoulders, "Just pissed me off."

It was more than that, but Sirius really didn't want to mention _why_ he had left. He didn't want to say that they had been arguing over what had happened to her, about his friendships with who they categorized as "blood traitors", and his relationship with her. Sirius didn't want her to think that she may have been an influence on what happened. He had a feeling that she may think that because they were together, his parents threw him out. This is exactly why he didn't tell her that his mother also kicked him out of the house.

Iris swallowed heavily as she gazed at him with sad eyes. Living with such terrible people as a family must have been hell. She already knew what Regulus was like, sadly, and she had only heard stories from Sirius about how his parents were. She knew that they were your typical blood purity preaching, dark arts practicing wizards. It also didn’t help that they were one of the sacred twenty-eight. But to kick him out like that? It was just horrible! Iris wished she could give them a piece of her mind.

Sirius smiled slightly as he saw the protective aura that surrounded her. It warmed his heart to see that she was so willing to defend him against what had happened. This was a first. Honestly, Sirius has been with plenty of girls, however, none of them were like Iris. None of them ever seemed to be so committed to him like this. There weren't any situations where a girl could stand up for him, granted. However, that was only because none of them had gotten as close to him as Iris has. Not only has Iris become his girl, but she's also his best friend(Don't tell James!). Unlike the other girls who focused on just sucking face, Iris took the time to get to know him. He also knew that he had done the same for her.

"Next time I see your bastard of a brother, I'll make sure to hex him into next week!" Iris declared with a determined gleam in her eyes.

Sirius chuckled happily and pulled her into a kiss. Once the need for air grew to be too much, the couple parted with flushed cheeks and smiles. "I'll help you deal with him, love." He told her while resting his hands on her waist. "But, for now, let's forget about it, yeah?"

Iris pouted slightly but nodded her head, "...okay." If Sirius didn't want to continue talking about it at the moment, then she wouldn't continue to rant about it. They were with their friends, after all, she knew that he probably would want to just forget about his "family" and hang out with his friends.

"Hey," Sirius said while hugging her close, "everything is fine, alright? What happened doesn't matter."

Iris shook her head, "it does, Sirius... But we can talk about it another time if you want."

He smiled at her and her consideration, "sure."

"Now, let's get back to everyone else," Iris said as she grabbed his hand and started to lead him back to the living room. "Don't want that lot to get the wrong idea, right?"

"Oh, but Iris," Sirius pulled her back into his chest as he quickly pressed a lingering kiss to her temple, "I thought that we left so we could... catch up."

Iris smirked and allowed herself to be pulled into a tight embrace by Sirius. Let's just say that they caught up thoroughly with each other. So after a nice snog, the two of them headed back into the living room. Of course, their friends playfully teased them in mock disgust for what they may have thought that the two had done. For the remainder of the time at the Potter house, the friends caught up after the few weeks away from each other. Though Sirius was certainly grateful to have Iris in his arms after telling her what had happened to him and his family. All he could hope for was that things would only get better from here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright then. I feel like I could have done a little bit better with this, but I wanted to get it out as soon as I could. I haven't updated anything in some time, so I wanted to try and get something done this week, you know. Let me know what you thought of it.
> 
> Of course, Sirius couldn't hide the fact that he left home from Iris. She can see right through him. Well, almost. This certainly has brought the two of them closer, I think. Though sixth year is going to start soon for them all, and hopefully things go well. Hehe.
> 
> Okay so, I'm trying to get another story's chapter done soon. Question is: which one should I update next? An Uncertain Future, Supersonic, or Secrets of the Forest?
> 
> Anyway, until the next chapter my friends!


	3. Poor Derek

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, chapter three is finally finished. Took much longer than expected, but it's done. Hooray. My update schedule is shit. I know. I'm like a horrible writer. I honestly don't know if I will ever be able to keep up with an update schedule that actually makes scense :/ I'll do my best, promise. Besides my shitty update stuff, hope you enjoy this chapter.

**IRIS GROANED AND BANGED HER HEAD ON** her messy desk. Ink stained parchment and failed tricks were strew across her desk haphazardly. She had been up for over four hours working on some new concoctions for pranks. Iris was in dire need of making new ones since she had really only perfected about five pranks since last year.

There was really only one that was successful and it wasn't that impressive. All it was was a quill that wrote out the same sentence no matter what the writer tried to do. A simple trick that she was able to put together within an hour or so. Nothing too impressive, honestly.

Though at the moment, she was having a tough time trying to come up with ideas and create formulas for her new trick candies. Her mind felt as though it was going to melt into a puddle and pour out of her ears.

Even Shadow looked to be just as annoyed and frustrated as Iris. He rested on her bed right next to her desk, sunbathing in the sunlight that came through the window with his tail flicked from side to side. Though he was frustrated for a different reason than his owner. He just wanted to have a snack. Even though he had a nice helping of food for lunch not only twenty minutes ago, but that didn't matter.

"Hey, Iris," Lily said as she leaned in through the door.

Her sister grunted too focused on her writing to really pay attention, "yeah?"

"I'm heading out with Oscar and Samantha, but Derek wanted to hang with you today." She lazily said and started to walk away.

Lily had been hanging out with her muggle friends just about every day this summer. Then again, there wasn't much else for her to do after all. Occasionally, they'd get a visit from Marlene, Alice or Wendy, but that was rare. So, ever the active person, Iris went out any chance she could with those in the village. Iris wasn't as willing to go out as her, but it wasn't like Lily forced her to. At least, not all the time. There were times when Lily made it her goal to get Iris to hang out with her and the others, but that was only when Iris had been cooped up in the house for over a week or so.

Iris huffed before stretching and cracking her back with a satisfying groan. She got up from her chair and shuffled a few of her papers around into a semi neat pile. The redhead glanced at the clock to see that it was a little after one and walked out of her bedroom. She hadn't planned on going out today, it was one of her scheming days after all, but she was stuck in a bit of rut. Going out may help her a bit, inspire her. Of course, Shadow followed after her in hopes that Iris would actually get him a snack.

She lazily brushed a hand through her hair and made herself somewhat presentable as she followed after Lily. She found that the two nuisances were talking with each other in the living room while Derek stood next to them nervously. Why he was nervous was beyond anyone, but no one really cared to think about it. 

"Hello, Iris," Oscar and Samantha snidly said with a roll of their eyes. Obviously in an act to be polite to her. She hummed in their direction but didn't even greet them which most certainly ticked them off a bit.

Lily grabbed Oscar and Samantha's arms before either of them could reply to her sister. "Right, well, see you later!" The trio then left leaving Iris and Derek to themselves. A thick silence enveloped them. It blanketed over the pair of teens and induced an awkward tension between the two. 

Iris stared at him for a short while with a tired expression before letting out a sigh. "So what do you wanna do?"

Derek jumped slightly and scratched the back of his neck. "I-I don't know." Honestly, he wasn't entirely sure how he was going to go about this. He wants to make this a day that neither of them would forget. After all, this would be the first date that he had been on...

She nodded her head and grabbed her sneakers from the floor and slipped them on. "Well, then, I think I should stop by Quinn's, you wanna come with?"

"Oh, sure!" The boy nodded his head rapidly and jumped off to follow her.

So the two teens left the house. While Derek was a bundle of nerves, Iris was quite tired and needed some relaxation. Visiting her pseudo-grandmother would definitely mellow her out, at least a little. Maybe she'll even have some cookies to pass out to Iris. Mmm... Quinn's cookies were the best!

* * *

The two teens set out on their short trek to the local bookstore. They talked with each other all the way there. However, Iris hadn't noticed the fact that Derek was beyond nervous. He was fidgeting with his hands or the end of his shirt for about most of the walk. Instead, she just complained to him about Lily waking her up before noon every so often.

He did his best to try and talk with her, but his nerves were causing his throat to close up. He shouldn't be nervous like this! Derek is used to talking with her, so talking to her now shouldn't be any different. Though it may be because he believed that he could turn this hang out into an official date. He really should have just told her that he wanted to take her out on a date. However, poor, innocent, little Derek didn't do that. A simple thing that should be the first thing that he did before heading out with her. Though he'll tell her at some point, right?

"Your summer's been good too, right?" Iris asked him, startling the teen from his thoughts. 

Derek cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck., "oh, y-yeah, kind of boring... but better since I can hang out with you!" 

Iris smiled, "yeah, it's fun to get to hang out with someone." She then clicked her tongue as her lips turned down in a slight scowl, "you're definitely better than Oscar or Samantha." Even at the mention of them brought a sour taste to her mouth.

The two of them shared a laugh together as they made their way down the calm street. Though it was quite obvious that Iris wasn't picking up on the fact that... Derek wanted this to be more than just a couple of friends hanging out. Though it seemed like both of them were quite oblivious! While Iris didn't see the indication of Derek's interest in her, Derek didn't see the fact that she wasn't interested that way. Oh boy.

They eventually made it to the quaint bookstore and greeted Quinn. The lively older woman bounced from behind the counter to greet the two teenagers with a wide smile. Though if one paid close attention, it was more like a smirk, with how her aged eyes were alight with devilry.

"Oh hello, you two!" She embraced them both in a tight hug that stole their breath. "Having a little date, are you?" At her words, Derek blushed a brilliant shade of red, one that matched Iris' hair. 

He was just about to insinuate that, maybe, he wanted their little hang out to be a date when Iris laughed loudly. "No, no, Quinny, we're just hanging out for the day."

Derek visibly deflated at her words, which was only noticed by Quinn. She felt a jolt of sympathy phase through her for the boy. Obviously, all he wanted was for Iris to notice him as more than a friend. Though Quinn remembered quite a bit about Iris talking about this other boy, a Sirius, and it seemed like Iris already had a significant other. Don't even get her started on how much Craig liked to complain about the boys who were courting his daughters. Quinn had sit through far too many rants from the man.

"Well, then, come to get a few books, dears?"

Iris shrugged her shoulders and lazily walked over to a bookshelf. "I guess, Lily's been nagging me about reading more. I don't know why we read far too much at school anyway!"

They all shared a chuckle at that as Derek joined Iris over at the bookshelf. The two of them looked through a couple of interesting books that caught their interest. Derek suggested a few different fantasy stories to Iris who just rolled her eyes and kept her focus on a few mystery books. Iris was living in a fantasy world of wizards and witches, no need for her to read about a fictional one.

Derek, poor Derek, tried once again to catch Iris' attention in a more romantic way. Despite being hesitant and shy about it, Derek decided to wrap an arm around Iris' shoulder. To him, it was most likely the most intimate thing that he could do,(besides kiss her, of course. Which he had already done, to his embarrassment.). Keeping her close to him would hopefully give her the hint that Derek wanted to do something more than just be friends.

However, because Iris is generally a touchy-feely kind of person and not a stranger to physical contact with just about anyone, she didn't notice it. All she did was allow the boy to keep her close to him as they looked over the books and barley batted an eye at him.

Eventually, Iris had settled on getting a small mystery novel. Hopefully, it would satisfy Lily's incessant need for Iris to read more. It was that Iris didn't like read or anything, she would just rather be scheming than reading about fictional stories.

Iris bought her book and turned to Derek with a large toothy smile, "where to now?"

"U-uh, why not Freezing Point...?" Derek stuttered. Damn him and his shyness. He usually has no problem talking to her, as he has done plenty of times in the past. However, at the reminder that he was trying his best to get her attention in a more than friendly way, he couldn't help himself but get flustered.

The redhead's eyes brightened at the suggestion. After all, a nice hot summer day certainly called for some delicious ice cream. "Alright, cool!" She then grabbed his arm to pull them out of the store, "bye Quinn!"

The grandmotherly woman waved after the two teens, "bye-bye dears!" Once they disappeared through the door, Quinn shook her head and sighed lightly through her nose. Her thoughts straying to the failed attempts of romance that Derek tried to woo Iris with. "Oh, those two."

* * *

Bouncing with eagerness, Iris walked alongside Derek on the sidewalk. "I don't know why I didn't think of this beforehand, ice cream is a perfect idea. Good thinking, Derek."

The teen boy beamed at her praise. His chest seemingly puffed out as he stood up straighter. It felt wonderful to be praised by the girl that you fancied, he concluded. "You probably would have thought of it sooner or later."

Iris shrugged her shoulders and smirked, "yeah, most likely. I usually only think about sweets anyway." 

The two of them laughed together at her comment. So for their walk to the ice cream shop, they divulged more about themselves to each other. Iris learned that Derek is quite hopeful in staying in England for as long as he could since he was quite tired of having to move around so much. He also wanted to go to school to be a teacher of some sort. The boy wasn't completely sure what he wanted to be a teacher of, most likely History or English, but thought he had enough time to figure it out later.

Derek learned... Well, he didn't learn all that much about her. Most of the stuff they talked about was just continuations of the things that they had talked about before. He already knew that she was a troublemaker, getting in trouble at school all the time. She hated her History class with a passion but remarked that it was still somewhat easy class. Iris told him stories about her friends, mostly about Sirius and James(to Derek's annoyance), and complained about Lily's nagging. He asked her about her hobbies, and she hesitated on telling him. He wasn't sure why, but she almost appeared unsure what to tell him. 

Unknown to him, Iris couldn't just divulge to him that she loved to create magical pranks or that she enjoyed watching Quidditch. All of the things that she liked to do had some sort of magical aspect to them. So she couldn't just tell him upfront what her hobbies were or what she enjoyed. Truthfully, there weren't many non-magical things that she liked to do. So instead she told him about the music she liked to listen to, especially on her new record player she had gotten last year.

The two arrived at Freezing Point, ordered some ice cream, and sat down outside under the sun to enjoy their treats. It was getting a bit late and soon enough as the sky was slowly starting to become tinted with orange as the sun descended below the horizon. Iris didn't even notice that they had been gone for such a long time. She supposed hanging out with a good friend really did pass the time.

Though just like the rest of their hang out, Derek tried and failed to make some sort of move on the redhead. Yet she still didn't notice it. He wasn't sure why she didn't notice it, after all, she was a pretty big flirt. You wouldn't think that someone who knew exactly how to fluster someone with such advances would notice them when they were directed at them. Not Iris. She was completely oblivious to it.

As they joked over ice cream and laughed with each other between Derek's failed attempts, the sun was ever so slowly disappearing. The sky exploded in a wonderful array of colors. A perfect setting for a date...

"Do you miss some of the places you've been to?" Iris asked him before taking a lick of her ice cream.

Derek nodded his head slightly, "Yeah. Some places were really cool, and I would have liked to stay there." He bit his bottom lip, "but I'm glad we moved here though, I wouldn't have met you if we didn't."

Iris chuckled at the sentiment and punched him in the shoulder good-heartedly before continuing to eat her frozen treat. 

Eventually, it was starting to get close to supper time, and both of them knew that they should probably head home. Wouldn't want to worry their families with their disappearances, right?

Though while the two had lapsed in a comfortable silence that was laced lightly with awkwardness on Derek's part, he knew that this was his last chance. He needed to say something about his interest in her. If he didn't do it now, he probably wouldn't be able to work up the courage to do it later. Coming to the conclusion that it was now or never, he made up his mind.

* * *

At the door of the Evans' household, Iris smirked at Derek and ruffled her short hair. "Thanks for getting me out of the house today!" She was genuinely happy that she got to hang out with someone today. Getting out of her room every once in a while was a good thing... Oh, Merlin, she was starting to sound like Lily! The horror!

Disregarding that, she was still satisfied with how the day went. She got a new book from Quinn's that piqued her interest, had some ice cream, and got to spend time with the one muggle she actually liked. All in all, a nice summer's day!

"No problem, Iris!" Derek smiled, "We should do this more often."

Iris nodded her head vigorously, "definitely."

Derek's cheeks started to darken for what seemed like the hundredth time that day as he grabbed her hand. "Uh, listen, Iris... I had a great time with you today, I just... Well, I was wondering if maybe if next time you want to like go out."

Iris eyebrows furrowed, "but didn't we just do that?"

"Ah, no." He couldn't help himself but chuckle lightly at her confusion. Derek swallowed thickly before squaring his shoulders and gathering as much courage within him as he could. "I mean as on like a date." 

Iris stared at him for a moment and processed it. Oh. A date. A Date? Really? She didn't think that Derek would want a date! Well, now that she thought about it, the comments he made about being with her, keeping her at a close distance to him, and his nervous state started to add up. He thought that he could make this into a date, didn't he? 

Now Iris wasn't stupid... Well, not extremely stupid. She can tell when she being flirted with or something to a certain extent. It's just that, she hadn't of even thought of looking for the signs of flirtation from Derek. Though she could guess that because he was not experienced with flirting that he may have had a bit of a tough time even doing it. Iris had written off Derek as a _friend_. He was nothing more than a muggle friend who she enjoyed the company of. Not only that, but she was already in a relationship. Why would she actively be looking for the affections of other guys when she's already involved with someone. 

"Oh." She blinked.

He definitely messed it up now! "Yeah," Derek swallowed after her short pause of silence.

Iris cleared her throat and tried to smile as kindly as she could to him, though she was certain that it appeared more like a grimace. "Derek, it's nice getting to hang out with you and all, and you're a cool guy... but I already have a boyfriend."

"O-oh," Derek breathed out. He did his best to keep the disappointment from leaking into his voice, but he wasn't as successful as he had hoped. It also didn't help that a crescent fallen expression was now plastered on his face. He had no doubt in his mind that she was most likely dating that Sirius boy that he had met at the party last year. Both Iris and Sirius seemed like they couldn't keep their hands off of each other that night. How long had they been dating, he wondered? Had they been together when he had kissed her? No, if they had, Derek probably would have had his ass beaten by Sirius for it.

Though Derek didn't take either Iris or Sirius(even though he barely spoke to the guy but has heard plenty of stories about him from Iris and Lily) as the commitment types. Maybe, he still had the chance. If what was between the two didn't work out, Derek could swoop in and possibly have a relationship with Iris. Of course, from there he would try to make it work between them, even if Iris had a problem with commitment, he'd work it through with her. Still, Derek would wait. He could wait for her instead of fucking with the relationship she was already in. That certainly wouldn't be a good idea.

Iris pursed her lips, "Yeah, uh, sorry about that."

"No, no. No need to apologize," Derek awkwardly chuckled to try and defuse the tension between them. Though it didn't do much.

Iris nodded her head slowly, "right, well, see you, I guess." She then shuffled into her home to hopefully escape the awkwardness that was starting to suffocate her after Derek's confession. She sighed heavily and leaned her back against from door. Merlin, things just had to get complicated, didn't they?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aww, is it bad that I feel terrible for Derek. Poor boy just wants a chance with Iris. Too bad Iris is already with Sirius!! Better luck next time, Derek! He should have taken his chance to ask her out earlier, but our egotistical dog asked her out first. 
> 
> You know, I kind of like Derek as a character. He's like the complete opposite of Sirius and different from the guys that Iris may or may not have fancied in the past. Though I don't think he has the ability to really win Iris over from THE Sirius Black... or does he? I'm just gonna say this, him(and the other muggles for that fact) will be making more appearances in this story.
> 
> This chapter was kind of short, not gonna lie to you. Though it has the plot components that I wanted so I tried to make it as long as I could. Oh, well. I did what I could. I'll try to make sure that the other chapters are a least a tad bit longer.
> 
> Side note: I have been doing a lot of writing recently... Problem is that I get distracted so easily that all the writing is for a bunch of different fanfiction stories. Oops. I may or may not have been sucked down an anime rabbit hole and thought of plenty of story ideas for some. Most notably, I've written a bit for Haikyuu. Lowkey, it's probably my new obsession, right now, not gonna lie. I just can't get enough of the cinnamon roll that is Hinata.
> 
> Anyway, let me know what you thought of this! Until the next chapter!


	4. Just What We Need

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOLY SHIT! This took soooooooo long! I hate everything right now. I don't have any time to do any writing and the stress is building up so much! I mean, I like school as it is at the moment, but I still don't have much time to just sit down and write for fun. Though I finally got this done! So I hope it's good!

**A BARK LIKE LAUGHTER ECHOED AROUND THE LIVELY** pub in London on a sunny afternoon. The Leaky Cauldron was busy today like it usually is during the summertime. Serving a multitude of witches and wizards of drinks that varied from pumpkin juice to fire whiskey, the owner, Tom, was doing his best to keep up with the orders. In the corner of the pub, the most infamous couple from Hogwarts were huddled up together sipping on some butterbeer. 

The two were currently out on a much-needed date. They hadn't seen each other in over two weeks at this point, and even then they were usually around their friends. So it was time for the two to have their alone time with each other. Well, not _that_ alone time, but you understand. Actually going on a nice date was well deserved for the couple. 

So they met up at the infamous Leaky Cauldron to spend the afternoon together. Currently, the two of them were catching up since the last they saw each other. Though the last time that they saw each other was a little over a week ago when their friend group had met up at Wendy's home to have a sleepover. That night was more like camping since Wendy's house was basically in the forest. Perks of being a descendant from a wealthy, pure-blood family must include large, isolated estates Definitely one thing that Iris was a tad bit jealous about. Having such a large house would mean that nobody would bother her! Imagine it, no longer having to share a room with Lily which meant working on her creations without fearing waking up her twin. Or better yet, having to pass by Petunia's room every day just to get to the kitchen! Oh, that would be a blessing! Though at the moment, the one and only blessing that she was focusing on was the handsome man next to her. 

"What did you say they did again?" Sirius asked while looking over the galleon that Iris had given him. The coin was most likely the shiniest piece of currency that he had probably held. He could see his dashing reflection in it, even.

Iris snagged the coin away from him, "it gets stuck to a person's hands when it's picked up!"

Yes, another trick that she had come up with over the summer. It was on the easier side of pranks to make, as it only consisted of a few simple spells and charms, but that didn't mean she was less proud of it. She came up with the idea after she saw a few muggle boys play the prank in her village with a £20 note on a string. Of course, she put her own little spin on the prank and added some magic, but it was similar in principle. The coin wasn't a real gallon, if you took a closer look at it, you would see that there was a niffler engraved on the coin instead of a dragon or wizard. Was it illegal to make counterfeit money? Eh, probably. Iris would look into it a bit later, once she was back at Hogwarts and the library full of books about magical laws and such. For now, she'll just keep the one galleon and figure out if she could sell them or not. It was one thing to make pranks, it was another to break the law and end up punished for it. Iris likes to break rules and such, which everyone knows, however, she wouldn't wanna be thrown into Azkaban or anything because she broke some stupid rule that she didn't know.

The redhead observed the fake coin with her nimble fingers, "everyone's a little greedy right, wouldn't miss the opportunity to pick up a galleon that _just_ so happens to be on the ground, right?"

"Oh, I see," Sirius snickered while winding an arm around his lady-love's waist. He nuzzled her neck with a laugh, "you're quite the devious thing, love."

Iris rolled her eyes and basked in the affection, "as if you aren't the same way, darling."

The shaggy-haired boy's chest continued to rumble with his deep chuckles. Oh, he loved how he was able to fall for such a mischievous girl. A girl who could keep up with him in many different ways and liked to cause trouble in plenty of ways was definitely made for him. He finished off his glass of butterbeer and started to shuffle out of the booth. "Now, come on!"

Iris allowed herself to be pulled out of the booth and maneuvered through the slightly crowded pub. She giggled, "Slow down!"

The two teens weaved through the few groups of drunk or nearly drunk wizards and witches. Iris' arm was nearly pulled out of its socket with how much force was Sirius was pulling her. Though it's not like she minded it so much, after all, it was Sirius doing it. It didn't bother her so much. They made it to the back of the pub and out to the brick wall that separated the pub to the Diagon Alley.

With giddy smiles and racing hearts, they quickly used a wand to open up the brick wall to enter the magical world. The noisiness of Diagon Alley greeted their ears as they started to walk down the crooked roadway, joining the many other witches and wizards. They weaved through the hustle and bustle of hags buying potion ingredients and children gushing about the newest high-speed broom.

The two of them were quite ready to make this date even more enjoyable than it already was. The faux golden galleon was quickly placed on the ground in the least busy area that they could find. After all, the two of them wanted to see how effective the newest toy Iris had come up with. So they settled into a small corner in the shadows to watch the show.

Boy, was it one of the most enjoyable times for the two pranksters. Long story short, the couple had ended up pranking a few people with this. The first was a middle-aged wizard who thought it was a good-natured prank. The bearded man was impressed with what Iris had created and had let out a hearty laugh after Iris took the coin back. 

The second was a young girl, around nine or ten, with blonde pigtails and a licorice wand in hand. After the coin had gotten stuck to her hand, she had started to freak out just a bit. Before she could start crying or something, Iris had hoped out of the shadows to console her and explain the little trick. Eventually, after some soft words and jokes, the little girl was giggling while the coin was stuck to Iris' cheek. Sirius watched the display with a wide smile and soft eyes. Iris made sure that the girl was happy and that she wasn't going to cause a scene before ushering the girl off to find her parents. 

There were a couple of other people who had fallen prey to their pranks. Their reactions were relatively the same. They were surprised, they laughed lightly, and then moved on with their day. Just about everyone they encountered just saw it as a harmless prank. At most, they thought that it was a tad bit annoying, but moved on.

"You brats!" A withered, strained voice shouted out, almost sounding as though the old crone who had shouted was going to lose her voice. "Get back here!"

Though there was one witch who did not take kindly to the prank. The sickly-looking woman with long, ancient fingers pointed at the couple and instantly started shouting. The coin that had been stuck to her hand was quickly whisked from her palm at the simple flick of Iris' wand. Her hunched, crumpled figure hobbled in place as she shouted out obscenities to the two teens who had abandoned their hiding spot and started to run.

The teens laughed loudly with each other as they flowed through the current of the crowd. They earned a few strange looks from others as they did their best to get as far away from the old crone as possible. It was inevitable that they would finally run into someone who became enraged at the joke for one thing or another. So the two had already come up with an escape route as soon as they could. They took that route and easily got away from the old woman, though it's not like it wasn't that hard to do since the old hag looked to be over one-hundred and moved at a snail's pace.

They continued to laugh with each other uncontrollably and breathlessly before slowing down into a walk. Iris wrapped her arms around Sirius's torso as he wrapped a tight arm over her shoulders. Their shoulders continued to shake as their laughter died down just a little bit. They casually walked down the crooked road with their arms wrapped around each other tightly, unwilling to let the other get too far away from each other. 

Iris finally settled down enough to speak without interrupting herself. The smile that was plaster on her face was completely blinding with the light that radiated off of it. "That was amazing!"

Sirius nodded his head and calmed down his laughter along with her. "Of course it was!" He ran a hand through his thick black hair with the cocky smile ever-present on his lips. "You're newest toy is brilliant, love."

Iris smirked, "I know. Just wait until I can make more of these! Oh, it'll be so fun to use them around school!"

Sirius led Iris into Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour where both of them were ready to devour some icy treats. After Iris ordered a serving of salted caramel blondie and Sirius got some mint ice cream, the two settled down at a table to eat. This date was going splendidly in their opinions. Though any date would be just as amazing considering they always have the best time when they are together. It didn't matter if they were pulling pranks, sitting around with each other talking about nothing and everything, or going out to eat, all they needed was each other to have a good time. 

As people walked passed their table and chatter bounced off of the cobblestone ground and walls, the couple idly talked with each other about everything and anything. "There's only about a month left of summer," Sirius pointed out.

Iris groaned, "don't remind me! The only good thing about going back to Hogwarts is getting to avoid Petunia and those horrid muggles." She shivered at the reminder of Oscar and Samantha, the annoying muggles who Iris had the displeasure of running into every once in a while. It didn't help that things were quite awkward between her and Derek as well, after their last encounter. 

"The only good thing?" Sirius asked in mock offense placing a hand over his heart. "I thought getting to be with me would be _the_ best thing about Hogwarts."

The redhead shrugged her shoulders, "eh, I guess so."

Her boyfriend's handsome features were twisted into a pout now, "you wound me, love."

"I know." Iris laughed softly and taking a bite of her cold treat, "How's staying with James? I imagine the two of you cause enough trouble for his parents just about every day."

Sirius smiled widely, to the point where it looked like his face would split in half, as he seemed to laugh at a memory. "We aren't that bad." Iris raised an eyebrow at him questionably. He conceited at her look, "Okay, okay, we cause a _bit_ of trouble, but not a lot!"

"Mhm. I totally believe that," Iris said sarcastically with a smirk which caused Sirius to pout once again. The two of them lapsed into a comfortable silence as they ate their ice cream. It was easy for the two to sit in a comfortable silence ever since they had their midnight rendezvous at school. It was surprising to think that these two rambunctious teens, who could never really shut their mouths, were able to sit together in peace and quiet.

Sirius then spoke up after a few moments, "What about you, driving your sister mad, are you?"

"I probably would if she wasn't hanging around Thing One and Thing Two so much." Iris rolled her eyes as a thick layer of annoyance started to filter through her irises. She huffed through her nose harshly, "They're like leeches, I swear. No matter what, they're always right by Iris. Never give me the chance to just hang with my twin, which is rare cause I don't usually wanna do it, but the _one_ time I want to those morons are right there."

For a moment, Sirius chuckled at her displeasure. Yeah, he could understand her dislike for those muggles. Even after meeting them only once, Sirius hated them quite easily. Add in the fact that he had to hear about James' hatred for that Oscar boy because he obviously fancied Lily. That alone was a horrendous crime for anyone to commit, in James' eyes, which Sirius had to hear about nearly on a daily basis. A thought, a terrible reminder, from New Years, then popped into his head. "What about that other muggle? Drake?"

Iris chewed on the inside of her cheek and placed her ice cream down for a moment, suddenly not wanting to eat it at the mention of the muggle boy. Her voice took on a softer tone as she glanced away briefly from him as she answered, "Derek."

From her tone of voice, Sirius sat up a bit straighter. He could hear the layer of awkwardness in her words that she never uses. So what had happened for Iris to be like this? What had that annoying muggle done? If you think that Sirius had forgotten about that kiss that Derek had given Iris during New Years, then you are mistaken. Granted, he pushed it to the back of his mind because he could now call Iris his girl. However, that didn't necessarily mean that Derek would back off, would it? Sirius didn't know this muggle that well since he only met him the one time, so for all he knew Derek was a scumbag who would readily try to steal a girl from someone. So he wanted to keep his eye on him, even if he really couldn't considering he couldn't be with Iris 24/7. Still, it's the thought that counted really.

Iris sighed softly, "I haven't seen him much, which I suppose is alright considering he had to make things awkward."

"Awkward how?" Sirius jumped at that, he wouldn't like to see his lady-love put in an uncomfortable situation. It didn't help that the two of them had to spend time away from each other because they lived somewhat further away from each other. He couldn't be there to make sure that she was alright, which was such an anxiety-inducing thought for him. After what had happened at school, Sirius really didn't want her to be out of his sight, at least not unless he was certain she was safe.

"He tried to ask me out a little while ago," Iris said cautiously, knowing that Sirius wouldn't be exactly happy with it.

That was an understatement. Sirius certainly wasn't happy to hear that another boy had tried to go after Iris. Not only had his sadistic little brother literally _force_ himself into a relationship with Iris but now a muggle also thought that he could try to get with her. The only difference this time was that Sirius was going to make sure to stake his claim. No one else, especially a stupid muggle boy, was going to take her away from him, ever. "Did he not know that you already had a boyfriend."

Iris shook her head slowly, "Well, no. Considering I only saw him during breaks, he must have just assumed that I was still single."

That didn't sit well in Sirius's gut, "And you never told him?"

"Well, I didn't think he'd still _want_ to date me." She started to explain, wanting to make sure she was clear with Sirius. The last thing she needed was for Sirius to get upset over this and cause a rift between them. "Although I mean, we did flirt a bit _before_ we got together! I just did think that... he'd still want to?" It was a weak argument on her part. Though in her defense, Iris completely forgot about the muggle and any sort of courtship that he could have had when she started to date Sirius. He was the only one on her mind. The only guy who mattered to her. So why would she think about another guy trying to get with her when she already had her dashing boyfriend to think about?

Sirius sighed loudly and slumped back in his seat. He knew that Iris was quite the flirtatious person, much like himself. So he shouldn't be surprised that she had flirted with other guys, though at least it was _before_ they had decided to date. He trusted Iris with literally everything, so he knew that Iris would never go behind his back. Though it was slightly surprising to hear that she didn't even consider that the muggle boy would still be interested in her. He knew that she had plenty of experience with messing around with guys, so he thought that she could recognize when someone was interested in her. 

After seeing that awkward little kiss Derek had _stolen_ from Iris, Sirius had certainly grown to have a grudge against him. Sure, the two weren't together at the time, but that still didn't discourage the jealousy within him from the time. Iris certainly wasn't ready for the kiss or even willing for it, it was a complete surprise to her. Sirius didn't like it, or him for that matter. With the fact that Derek fancied Iris, had kissed her without her consent and was still trying to pursue her, he had every reason not to like the guy.

"Is he bothering you?" He asked her with a tone of urgency.

Iris shook her head and waved her head dismissively, "no, no, I haven't seen him all that much, so he isn't bothering me or anything."

Sirius let out a relieved breath, "Good."

"It isn't that bad, darling." She told him with her voice starting to take on a teasing tone. Obviously, she could tell that Sirius was growing to be quite jealous of this. Though she had no idea that it was a tad bit more than just jealousy. "I told him I was with you, so there won't be any misunderstandings between anyone about this. I can tell you're worried about it."

The shaggy-haired boy scoffed softly and started to stuff ice cream into his mouth, "Me? Worried?"

"Hm, you can't hide it," Iris nodded her head with a sly smile on her pale lips. It was endearing to see Sirius act so bashfully. Oh, how she took pride in flustering the poor boy.

Sirius looked away as a bit of pink flush covered his cheekbones. "So what if I'm worried about my girlfriend? I think it's in the job description of a boyfriend, isn't it?" Sirius has had many a girlfriends in the past, but none of them could get under his skin like Iris could. Of course, she got under his skin in a good way. One that made him feel flustered and a warm feeling to swell in his chest. This was something that he'd hope that he got over it soon, because he would much enjoy getting to fluster Iris at some point.

"Yes, yes, alright," Iris giggled, "Though there isn't much to worry about okay? Derek has left me alone for weeks and even if I do see him it's with other people around for a short time."

The boy sighed and took in her words. He nodded his head firmly, "Fine. As long as you're alright." That was his main priority at the end of the day. All that really mattered was having Iris kept safe, especially after their fifth-year. Did he want to admit out loud that he was terrified of there being a repeat of what happened with Regulus? Not really. He had a feeling that Iris would brush off his worry, which he thought was rightfully founded. Even if something like that didn't happen again, it was still a nagging fact in the back of his mind. It happened once, who's to say it wouldn't happen again?

Iris's chest swelled in admiration for her boyfriend who certainly cared a lot of her. She smiled brightly, which could blind just about everyone in the parlor, "You're so adorable when you're worried!"

* * *

Iris's date with Sirius had gone on for a little while longer after their ice cream. They strolled around Diagon Alley for a little bit more before they reluctantly parted ways. It had gotten a bit late and the two of them didn't want to end up in trouble with either of their guardians that night. So with a few heated kisses, they said goodbye and headed home. 

Now, the redhead was skipping her way up to the front door of her home with a bright smile. She always felt like she was walking on the air after spending time with Sirius. He left behind such a warm feeling within her that never went away even if they parted ways. She was whipped just as much as Sirius. Though she had an easier time hiding her flustered appearance than he did.

She entered the front door and sighed happily as she pulled off her shoes. From the living room, Lily perked up at the sound of the front door opening and closing and looked over to see her sister enter.

She propped herself up on the back of the couch to watch her sister float into the room. "So how did it go?"

"It was great!" Iris smirked.

"Where'd you go this time?" Lily asked somewhat interested. She wasn't usually interested in what her sister did with boys, considering she knew Iris could be a bit _lewd_ in some ways, but with Sirius, it was a bit different. Don't get her wrong, the two were the biggest flirts that she has ever known so things could get a bit too much which could be annoying. However, Lily was happy to see Iris willingly be in a committed relationship that she knew she was happy in. Plus, she may not admit it, but Sirius is a friend of hers as well, and it's nice to see him the same way.

Iris started to list off the locations on her hand, "The Leaky Cauldron, Diagon Alley, and Florean Fortescue."

"I'm surprised that you didn't go to a joke shop or something." Lily said with a pursed lips as Iris plopped herself down on the couch next to her, "Seems like an ideal date for a pair of troublemakers like you two."

Iris groaned at the thought, they didn't even think of that! "Oh, we should have totally done that! I'm running low on dung bombs."

"Nope, you don't need any of those magical things!" Octavia exclaimed as she came into the living room after finishing up cleaning the kitchen. Their mother sat herself down on one of the comfy chairs near the couch. Her chestnut hair pulled up in a bun swayed from side to side as she tiredly sat in the seat. Though she was still sat on the end of her seat, eagerly awaiting to hear about her middle daughter's date. "Now, how is that boy of yours, huh?"

Now, Iris had tried her best to keep her relationship with Sirius on the down-low around her parents. She knew that her father would go insane with the news that yet another one of his daughters had started to date someone, which she didn't want to hear his shouts about it. Her mother would have been completely the opposite of her father. Octavia was more than happy to encourage Iris to date, especially with a boy that she had at least met once. Did Craig know about Iris's boyfriend? Nope. Lily had accidentally mentioned Iris and Sirius being together while their parents were with them, however, Iris played it off as a joke. Albeit, it was a bit of a rough job to convince her father, but it worked. Sadly, her mother wasn't that thick and was easily able to pick out that Iris had finally gotten a boyfriend.

Iris rolled her eyes at the fact that her mother was acting like an enthusiastic teenager, "Sirius is fine, mum."

"You should invite him around some time, him and James," Octavia commented innocently, though there was a small spark of mischief in her eyes. "Might as well as get to know my future sons-in-law, right?"

"Mum!" The twins exclaimed with matching red cheeks.

Octavia stared at them as she held in her chuckles, "What?"

Iris stood up abruptly and started to walk towards her bedroom. Doing her best to hide her rosy cheeks from their view. "I'm going to bed!" As she left her still embarrassed twin and her giggling mother to continue to talk with each other. For now, all she needed was to curl up in her bed and fall into a nice dream. She quickly got ready and climbed into her bed with an awaiting Shadow already curled up into a tight ball. As Iris started to drift off into unconsciousness, her mind was racing with the thoughts of Sirius. How adorable he could actually be, especially when he was jealous. Though she would much rather not have to deal with such a worry-wart of a boyfriend. If only she knew how bad this would actually get...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, then. Looks like Sirius is a bit worried there, hmmm. I mean, he has every right to be worried considering what had happened beforehand. Still, there's no telling what this could do to their relationship, right?
> 
> So I had someone ask me if I abandoned Uncertain Future, and no, I have not abandoned it. I'm working on getting the next chapter done, but it's obviously taking longer than usual. I wish I could write chapters like I used to but I've just lost some motivation and time. It's kind of frustrating for me considering all I want to do is write, but education comes first, I guess. Though I hope to finally get back into the swing of things considering I've had a week of full classes to sort through and manage my time correctly. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Until the next one!


	5. Girl's Day In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAHA I finally got this chapter done! WOOO! I know it's been a long wait, but hopefully, it's worth a bit of the wait. Probably not, but we'll find out!

**"YOU ARE SO FULL OF IT!" MARLENE** shrieked in laughter as she nearly fell off of the chair that she was sitting on. Her brown hair swayed in front of her eyes as she seemingly screamed in laughter at the story that Iris was telling her along with the other girls.

The group of witches all sat around Wendy's extremely spacious bedroom as they gossiped with each other. Summer was coming to an end which left them a minimal amount of time to hang out with each other at their homes before school started up once again. Additionally, there was only a short bit of time before Ida and Matilda also had to start up school. Yes, the french couple had come to England to spend time with the girls. It would only be for a short time, but they were determined to make it an exciting visit.

This included joining the twins as they went to the Hunt household. Much like the Potter family, Wendy's family was quite wealthy and respected among the wizarding community. This meant that Wendy's house was quite... exuberant. 

Honestly, Iris had questioned whether or not she could move in with Wendy since she lived in a mansion that looked like it could be a hotel. There was also a yard that looked like it spanned for miles! Iris couldn't imagine what it would be like to have a space like this where she could freely run in her animagus form whenever she pleased. 

Currently, the group was lounging around Wendy's bedroom enjoying each other's company. Iris laughed along with Marlene with about the same amount of gusto, "I'm not! I swear! She screamed bloody murder and it woke up nearly the whole village!"

"It was quite mean," Lily piped up as she shook her head disapprovingly, "Samantha was terrified, Iris."

Wendy raised an eyebrow as she sat on the small sofa in her room alongside Ida and Matilda, "How can you be terrified about your hair changing color?" 

"Not very scary..." Ida tilted her head in consideration, not understanding how it was frightening for your hair to change different colors. The french girl liked her hair just as much as anyone else, but to be scared because her hair changed color, she couldn't understand it. Plus it didn't seem like that bad of a color. Ida would kind of like it if she had died her hair green. Well, not the "ugly" shade that Lily and Iris had described, but maybe a light green or something aesthetically pleasing. 

Iris shook her head, "Oh, for Samantha, it is. She loves her precious blonde hair! She's nothing without it, or her makeup, or her expensive clothes."

"She sounds like a bitch," Matilda said bluntly. Her short words earned laughter from all of the other girls, even a small chuckle from Lily though she was quick to suppress it.

Iris laughed and agreed while vigorously nodding her head, "She is!"

"Iris!" Lily exclaimed and nearly jumped from her spot to attack her sister for speaking badly of her friend.

The older twin leaned away from her annoyed sister as Lily tried to hit her. "Ah, ow! Lily, stop!" Her whining didn't get her anywhere with her twin who just continued to hit her sister for talking bad about Samantha. 

"Alright, alright," Wendy got over her small laughing fit before making sure to place herself between the twins to get them to stop fighting(even though it was just Lily attacking Iris). "Calm down you two, no fighting in my room!"

Lily finally let up on her smacks before huffing slightly. Though there was a small amused smile on her lips, which showed how she found this kind of funny as well. "Fine, let's talk about something else," She smirked, "I want to hear about Sirius, Iris."

Iris raised an eyebrow, "and I want to hear about you and James, but I don't think you want to talk about that, hm?"

"Oh, you--" Lily almost had half the mind to start hitting Iris again, though she couldn't really do that with Wendy now sitting in the middle of them like a wall to separate them. She kept trying to insinuate that Lily and James would become a couple, which would  _ never _ happen! Everyone knew that James was in love with her, but Lily would never be in love with him! That's an absurd notion!

"No, I want to hear about it too!" Marlene piped up in her seat.

Ida rapidly nodded her head as well, "Me too!" Besides her, Matilda also nodded her head in agreement.

So now, everyone was interested in hearing about Iris and Sirius's relationship. Well, anyone would want to hear about what a relationship between two of the biggest flirts and troublemakers at Hogwarts is like. What kind of trouble did these two get up to together? Only Merlin would know just what kind of troublesome relationship that those two have.

Iris hummed in contemplation for a moment, "well, there's not that much to say-”

“Not that much? Please!” Marlene exclaimed, “the two of you must cause far too much trouble for your own goods!”

Iris tilted her head as she thought that over, “I guess you're right.” The girls all laughed together at her words, “Honestly, it isn’t all that much different from any other relationship, I’d say. We pull a few pranks together, maybe a few on each other, but other than that everything is… nice.”

“Aw, look at her,” Wendy cooed, “she’s blushing.”

It was true, Iris’s cheeks had slowly become a pleasant shade of red as she thought about her and Sirius’s relationship. She didn't exactly know the idea of a relationship, yet it was still foreign for her to actually be in one herself. Contrary to popular belief, Iris has never been in a proper relationship. She’s only really been on one other date back in France, and it wasn’t that good, to be perfectly honest. So yes, she was going to be quite flustered while talking about her boyfriend, it was only natural.

“Have you been on many dates?” Ida asked as she leaned in as far as she could to catch a look at her close friend. It was just as a surprise to her and Matilda to see Iris flustered like this, it’s a rare sight. They definitely didn’t want to miss seeing that.

Iris shrugged her shoulders while trying to calm down her flaming cheeks, “a few, we mainly just go to Diagon Alley or something.”

Matilda tilted her head “You still have fun, right?”

“Oh, yea, yea, course we do!” Iris happily exclaimed, she then spun to her sister, while leaning over Wendy. Her eyes sparkled mischievously, "Now, I wanna hear about you and James!"

Lily then grew to be as red as her hair, if it was in anger or embarrassment that was unknown, "What!?" How had this turned to her?! She isn’t even in a relationship, so she would much rather focus on her sister who actually has a boyfriend.

Marlene perked up as well, “Ah, yes. The age old dilemma. The love between Lily Evans and James Potter.”

“There is no  _ love _ between-” Lily’s shout was cut off by her sister.

“Denial isn’t just a river in Africa.”

Lily stared at her with her expression twitching in annoyance. Wendy then also joined in, “Why can’t you admit that you may fancy the bloke?”

The younger redhead was basically a tomato at this point, “B-because I don’t!”

“Ah, ah, ah,” Iris tutted while poking her sister’s cheek, “is that a little bit of pink on your face there, sister dearest.”

Lily harshly pushed Iris’s hand away and looked about ready to pounce on her, “Oh, you little-”

“No fighting!” Wendy pushed herself between the two once again. Merlin, these two really never calm down, do they?

Off to the side, watching as Wendy tried to keep the twins from each other while Marlene laughed at them, the blonde half-veela turned to her girlfriend, “Imagine Lily with that Potter boy, they would look kind of cute together, no?”

“I suppose so,” Matilda grunted with a shrug of her shoulders.

Marlene leaned over towards her friend with a teasing smile, “I think you just don’t want to admit that you’ve finally fallen for him.”

Lily shook her head vigorously, “No, no. James Potter is one of the most insufferable boys that I have had the unfortunate pleasure of meeting!”

All of the girls shared a knowing glance with each other. Her denial was just proving them right a bit more, at least to them. They then all collectively spoke, “You fancy him.”

“What!?” Lily bristled, “But I- I don’t fancy James, I would never… I-”

“It would be kind of understandable if she doesn’t even realize that she fancies him.” Iris commented offhandedly, “Ever since we were little she never knew that Oscar fancies her, even now.”

Lily’s eyes grew wide at that piece of news, “Oscar?”

Iris turned to her sister with a nod of her head, “Yeah, he’s been in love with you since we were about eight.” She then placed her hand on her chin in thought, “Not only that, but Sev’s had a thing for you since we first met him.”

Lily’s eyes were wide, obviously this was a new revelation to her. “R-really?”

“You go, Lily!” Iris laughed wholeheartedly, either disregarding or not seeing the crisis she has now brought upon her sister. “Looks like I’m not the only one who steals the hearts of many men!”

“All right, all right,” Wendy said as she stifled her own giggles at the sight of her friend’s speechless expression, “let’s leave Lily to have her own existential crisis, let’s move on, shall we?”

“You know, I’ve been wondering,” Ida pursed her lips, “did something happen while at Hogwarts?”

The British girls all shared a look with each other, already knowing what they may be referring to. Though it was kind of surprising that Ida or Matilda had been able to pick up on anything. Iris swallowed thickly but smiled, as if confused, “What do you mean?”

“To you.” Ida clarified which caused Iris to flinch ever so slightly, “I’m not sure, but it just seems like you are… different. Not just that you are in a relationship now, but something else.”

Of course, neither Matilda or Ida knew about what had happened. Since she had gotten home, Iris hadn’t mentioned what had happened to her to really any one. At home, the only one who really knew what had happened is Lily. It’s not like she could talk to other people about it because one; she barely has any other friends in their village and two; they’re all muggles. Should she have told her parents? Maybe, but she didn’t feel like having them fuss over her about it. She knew that they would want to go after Regulus and Lucius for what had happened. However, they were just mere muggles, they couldn’t do anything against the likes of the Black and Malfoy families. The privilege and wealth that they had would easily squash any attempt that the Evans may make to get justice for Iris. All she wanted, was for this to go away, to forget about it. Was that healthy? Who knows, but for her right now, she just wanted to move on.

Iris glanced away from them while chewing on her bottom lip, “Ah, well, I suppose something happened.”

Matilda eyed her friend closely as her frow seemed to deepen, “I don’t think it was anything good...”

“It… wasn’t,” Iris swallowed.

So, Iris started to tell her french friends about what had happened during her first school year at Hogwarts. She did her best to explain what had been done to her. At times, there were a few parts where she either didn’t remember or couldn’t really get through it. Obviously, while Iris tried to put up a tough and confident persona, she was just as affected by this as people would suspect her to be. It seemed like she was just trying to hide what mental trauma she had gone through. She needed someone to talk to about this in depth, about her feelings and what was done to her by those horrendous boys. 

When her mask of bravery started to falter, one of the other british girls would step in for a moment. Even then, it seemed to be kind of hard for all of them to have to talk about it. While they weren’t the one who was taken advantage of like Iris, they still felt guilty. Iris is their friend, one of their best friends, and she had gone through such a horrible thing and they could barely do anything to help her. While they did what they could in the end and helped to get her back to normal, they still had to sit on the side lines and watch those two snakes parade her around like a puppet.

By the end of their explanation, both Matilda and Ida were seething. Matilda was beyond angry, though it was a scary-kind of angry. She was the silent-type, if that wasn’t obvious, and an angry Matilda was by no means a good thing. Ida was far more outwardly emotional about what she had heard. She was definitely crying after hearing what had been done to her friend. Though she was just as angry about it just like Matilda.

“How?” Ida cried, “How could something like that happen!?”

Matilda grunted with clenched fists, “Je vais tuer ces garçons!”

Iris jumped up to embrace her two french friends in a tight hug. She was actually kind of happy to know that they were just as upset by this as the others were. It also felt like she had let a heavy weight off of her chest, to actually tell someone else, who wasn’t involved in what happened. “It’s alright now,” She hugged Matilda and Ida tight, who returned the hug just as fiercely, “as much as I enjoy the murderous threats against them, it’s over now. I’d… rather just forget that it happened, alright? Can we uh… move on?”

It was silent for a long while. Really the only sound that was really heard was Ida’s sniffling into Iris’s shoulder. Even the other girls had grown to be misty eyed at the reminder of what those snakes did. Though they slowly started to calm themselves down enough. Ida slowly stopped crying and Matilda had been convinced not to go out murdering any Slytherins just yet. So now, after wiping their eyes, they grew quiet.

Lily then spoke up, “You know, I’ve always wondered if Wendy was interested in anyone.”

“Yeah!” Iris joined in, glad that someone had finally brought up a good distraction. She leaned over towards Wendy who looked as though she didn’t want the attention drawing to her now. Iris smirked, “So? Come on Wendy, there must be someone you’ve fancied at school.”

The black-haired girl shook her head slightly, “Oh, no. No, no. I’ve never really…  _ fancied _ anyone that much.”

There was now way that that was true! Marlene shook her head, “That’s a lie. There must have been someone who caught your eye.”

“Well, I’m afraid I’m not like you Marlene,” Wendy rolled her eyes playfully, “You fall for just about every pretty boy at Hogwarts.”

Marlene gasped in offense, “Not true, I would never fancy a Slytherin!” Though everyone else was fair game, to her. Honestly, one week she’s fancying a Gryffindor boy in their year, the next week, it's a Hufflepuff in the year above, then a boy from Ravenclaw. Marlene could never just pick one boy. Not only that, but she never actually tried to talk to them beyond a simple greeting. 

“Who was she gushing about the other day?” Lily tapped her chin, “That Hufflepuff, uh, Eddie?”

Wendy perked up, “Eddie Caldwell!”

“Ah, yes, her precious Eddie,” Iris then cleared her throat and tried to imitate Marlene’s voice. “ _ Oh, Eddie looks so handsome today! _ ” The girls all started to laugh at Iris’s impersonation, that was surprisingly accurate.

“ _ Eddie is so good at charms! _ ” Lily joined in on the teasing.

Marlene huffed, “So? I like to talk about boys I fancy, what’s wrong with that?”

Wendy rolled her eyes, “It can be a bit annoying when you try to talk about them every moment of everyday.” It could get annoying when she did try to bring up whatever pretty boy she was obsessed with at the time into nearly every conversation. It was a godsend that she already hadn’t started talking about Eddie already.

Lily agreed, “Not only that but you always drag us somewhere to just see a boy.” 

“All you have to do is talk to them and yet you never do!” Iris exclaimed.

“Merlin, who do you think I am!” Marlene shouted at the absurd idea, “I could never just…  _ talk _ to Eddie!”

Iris stared at her for a long minute before sighing loudly, “You’re hopeless. At least Wendy isn’t as hopeless.”

“What?” Wendy asked in surprise.

Iris turned to her with a raised eyebrow, “Well, obviously, you and Remus have a thing, yes?”

“Remus?” Wendy gasped at that, “No!” Who would think that she and Remus would ever have a thing? What would give them the idea of that?

Marlene hummed in thought, “Hm, I can see it. You’re both extremely smart and like the mothers of our friend group, so it makes sense.”

Just about everyone else agreed, including Ida and Matilda even agreed(even though they didn’t necessarily know everything). Wendy shook her head, “Whatever you guys say.”

There was no way that she would argue with them over this. If she tried, they may just end up taking it as an admission of her feelings for Remus. Which she doesn’t have, just like how Remus doesn’t have any for her. She really couldn’t do or say anything to change their minds, no matter what sort of evidence she showed them that showed she didn’t have interest in Remus.

“Ah, but imagine it!” Iris then gushed, “Wendy and Remus would be so cute together, right?!” In turn, everyone else then cooed at the idea as well. Yeah, it didn’t seem like they were going to let go of this idea for a while.

So for the rest of the day at Wendy’s, the girls all tried to keep the atmosphere light and happy. After having retold what their previous year at Hogwarts entailed, they needed some really good distractions. So they gossiped some more, until they could barely talk, before heading down to get some food. Wendy’s father, Edward, was more than happy to get them whatever they needed. Overall, their day was pretty good, except for the small damper in the middle of the day. Still, they made up for it with some more fun things, which was basically just Iris running about pulling a few small pranks here and there on her friends while they all shared a laugh. It was good. They were all glad to have friends like each other to help each other out when they need to lift their moods.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was this good? I feel like I did my best. I no longer have classes for the next month, so that means MORE UPDATES!! I actually passed my classes for my first semester, extremely proud of myself and my new job is going really well too. Overall, I'm happy and motivated, so look out for some more uploads! Let me know what you thought of this! Until the next chapter, my friends!
> 
> French translation(I'm terrible at french so this may be wrong): 
> 
> Je vais tuer ces garçons! - I'm gonna kill these boys!

**Author's Note:**

> First chapter done! Man, it feels good to be back to writing these characters. Right so, Sirius has run away from home now and is living with James, the twins vow never to tell their parents about what happened, and Derek may be looking at his relationship with Iris the wrong way. Already off to a good start!
> 
> I wanted to try and show a compare and contrast to both Iris and Sirius' home lives in this first chapter. Like we all know how horrible his parents were to him, but I've never really written it out, besides what Regulus usually has to say about Sirius.
> 
> Also Derek... I mean, I think that he's such a sweetheart but... he's going to get nowhere with Iris... Right? You're definitely going to be hearing more from Derek, Samantha, Oscar, and Quinn a bit more now. Since it is summer and the twins are home for a few months! And of course, my two favorite Beauxbaton girls will be coming back every once in a while. Can't forget about Iris's best buddies from France!
> 
> For James and Sirius' parents, I tried to cast people who would work somewhat okay for this part. You can just imagine them being a bit older, okay? Plus, this may or may not be the only chapter that they show up in, considering Sirius did just run away from home and all.
> 
> Additional Cast:
> 
> Eva Green as Walburga Black
> 
> Christian Bale as Orion Black
> 
> Lara Pulver as Euphemia Potter
> 
> Mark Hamon as Fleamont Potter
> 
> Now, I'm ready to continue writing this story! I hope you guys are ready to keep reading it. I know that this chapter was a little short, but I knew I wanted to try and get it out quickly to you guys. I'll try to make sure that the rest of the chapters are a tad bit longer! Until the next chapter, my lovely readers!


End file.
